Be an independent DOGG

[gary begley]

Personal Responsibility, Choice and Awareness in Paragliding

Let me ask you this, would you try and race Lance Armstrong up a hill, climb El Capitan with Lynn Hill, or big wave surf with Laird Hamilton? My guess is no you wouldn’t. The reason for this is because it is quite clear that your physical and mental ability are not prepared for such a task, unless you have devoted years and years to training both mind and body to do such a thing. Paragliding is first and foremost aviation and it is often viewed as an air sport. All of which I agree with. The term sport is used loosely, in that paragliding does not require a high level of true athleticism and physical training, which I too agree. A few
steps and you’re off, and this herein lies the crux in paragliding. Some days in magical air, you can be playing with the elite, which has nothing to do with your skill as a pilot but rather just the gift that mother nature has offered, leaving you disillusioned about your true ability. How many of you follow blindly just chasing others not knowing really what mother nature is doing? Can you perform in new areas the same way? Most athletics and adventure sports demand both physical and mental skills be matched for the task at hand. These only come through hard work, discipline and time.

The arena in paragliding has such an immense mix of levels in pilot ability ranging from first time fliers to elite pilots. This phenomenon rarely exists in any other adventure sport or activity. For example, in skiing a 50 degree slope, you will not have a beginner slicing across the hill, where it is evident death can occur should you make a mistake or climbing a 5.13 no matter how much your mind and ego want you to do it, you will not be able to pull yourself up. The examples are vast to prove this point.

We can blame others and try to find excuses and reasons as to why incidents occur, but what it really comes down to most of the time is pilot error, and sure human error will inevitably happen. But the majority of time, it is lack of skill and critical thinking that is missing. The moment the pilot steps out of his/her car it becomes their responsibility to have the awareness as to whether it is a day for them personally to fly; not if everyone else is flying and not if the forum says it will be a good day. If there is any question about the day’s forecast and you are thinking it may be too strong for you, that could be the first sign. But should you wish to take it further, ask someone whose guidance you can trust. If you chose not to follow the guidance of those more experienced (keeping in mind that they too are human and make mistakes), just realize that you may suffer the consequence of a poor choice, while also potentially putting someone else at risk for your decision. This is a challenging component for educators, passing on the wisdom that truly only comes from life experience, making the mistakes and learning from them; hopefully without too much severity or serious trauma. And as we know, there is that risk in paragliding. However, in becoming an independent pilot, one needs to check their ego at the door and make a choice that is appropriate for them and their skill level, realizing that the patience and training will pay off with time. Remember in the end, most people fly for recreation and no use scaring yourself out of a beautiful sport. Keep taking small steps, traveling, educating yourself in the sport and the psychology behind it always keeping the bigger picture in mind with humility. It is supposed to be fun, so go out there and have some.

Gary Begley
http://www.garybegleysports.com

[Simon]

I agree with Gary. As someone who has spun in before, thank G~d i did not break anything, every time i put myself up in the air here in Fillmore, I am at the mercy of the weather as to how long i will or will not be flying for. Fillmore has been my primary flying site and since I have started flying here the conditions were originally spectacular and now it is impossible for me to stay in the air for more than half an hour. Thanks Gary.